


Aftermath

by sarahsharpe1231



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahsharpe1231/pseuds/sarahsharpe1231
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry is Iris' best friend. No matter how much he's lied to her in the past year or how angry she's been with him, nothing hurts her more than seeing him at his absolute lowest. Ever since the singularity, Barry hasn't been himself. Iris makes one final attempt to pull him out of the darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Did I say that "Destiny" was going to be my last Flash fic before the season 2 premiere aired? Oh, haha! I lied. :P
> 
> This is mainly inspired by Candice's countdown clip, Carlos' countdown clip, and the season 2 trailer that aired at SDCC this summer. (You'll find several lines scattered throughout this that sound VERY familiar.)
> 
> So, I finished writing this last night, but haven't had the time to post it until today. Funny enough, our very first clip for the season 2 premiere was released today and, honestly, it's INSANELY canon with this fic! Just imagine that clip being the next scene immediately after this!
> 
> We've heard a lot about Barry being a "lone wolf" and Iris "trying to get the team back together", so this is based off of that idea! I hope you guys enjoy it! Who doesn't love Barry and Iris being there for each other? :)

“‘FLASH DAY: SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR THE MAN WHO SAVED CENTRAL CITY’,” Barry read from the flyer Iris handed him.

He looked up to meet her eyes.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Rumor has it The Flash is supposed to make an appearance,” Iris said. “Apparently Mayor Bellows is going to give him the key to the city. Everyone at Picture News has been talking about it. I’m surprised you haven’t heard. But maybe that’s because you haven’t bothered to leave the house the past few days. How _is_ hibernation going?”

Barry closed his eyes. He knew Iris would give him a hard time.

“What the hell are you doing, Barry?” Iris asked. “I’ve known you your entire life and I have never seen you like this.”

“Iris…” Barry said, shaking his head.

“Barry?” Iris asked, waiting for a response.

“You don’t know what it’s like to feel like…a fraud,” Barry said.

“‘A fraud’?” Iris asked, angrily. “Really?”

“Iris, I’m not the ‘the man who saved Central City’, okay!” Barry yelled. “That was Eddie! _He_ stopped Wells from going after all of you! And because of that, he’s gone. And by all accounts, this world should be, too.”

“What are you talking about?” Iris asked.

“I mean, Eddie’s death—and by extension, Wells’—should’ve caused a paradox,” Barry explained. “But I decided to play God and stop that from happening. …And now I’m one the getting credit for what he did.”

“Barry, you’re getting credit for stopping a singularity from swallowing the Earth whole,” Iris said, eyebrows raised. “Alright, I don’t understand what your problem is.”

Barry sat down in a nearby chair putting the flyer on the table.

“I just feel like I made a mistake,” he said, resting his chin on his hands. “I should've saved my mom.”

“Because then Eddie would still be alive?” Iris asked, sitting in the chair opposite him.

“Yeah,” Barry said, softly.

“Barry,” Iris said, taking her best friend’s hands, “what Eddie did was his own choice. None of us wanted him to do it, but it’s what he thought was best. And you can’t blame yourself for doing what you thought what was best, either. Like I said before, you don’t have to tell me why you didn’t save your mom. Okay? I respect that decision—whatever motivated it. But that’s in the past. _Fifteen years_ in the past. You have to let it go…and move on.”

“You sound like my dad,” Barry said.

“That’s because he’s a smart man,” Iris said, getting up from her chair. “And he believes in you.”

Barry got up, as well. He took the flyer from the table and handed it back to Iris. She pushed it up against his chest.

“Keep it,” Iris said. “Take a few days to think about it. However, it’d be a real disappointment if the guest of honor didn’t show up.”

“‘Guest of honor',” Barry said, scoffing. “That’s a first.”

“What can I say,” Iris said. “Central City believes in The Flash. So do I.”

She gave him a smile and walked out of Jitters. Barry looked around at all the wreckage that the singularity had caused to the coffee shop. It was yet another devastating reminder of every horrible thing that had happened that day…but Iris was right. He thought back to what Oliver had told him a year ago: _“You can give people hope in a way I never could.”_ And after everything this city had experienced, every villain—metahuman or not—that had their mind set on wreaking havoc on it’s streets, Barry realized that hope was exactly what Central City needed at the moment…despite how hopeless he was feeling himself.


End file.
